ET IN ARCADIA BLAGO

Dear Readers,
Even without the attendance of former Saturday Night Live comedian and 225-vote-margin election winner, Minnesota's Al Franken, you gotta admit that the U.S. Senate is one funny place.
Yesterday, as newly elected and appointed senators arrived in Washington for their official swearing-in ceremonies, one was refused admission to the august body. That person was someone named Roland Burris, and he was denied his seat because he was appointed to the post by Illinois Governor, Rod 'The Mod' Blagojevich, who's under suspicion of having tried to sell the Obama-vacated position to the highest bidder. Now Blagojevich may be under a cloud and may go to trial on any number of corruption charges, but he is still the rightful Governor - the only qualification he needs to legally make the appointment - and he's yet to be proven culpable of any wrongdoing. Ergo, he did his duty.
OK, I agree he's probably guilty of some sort of corruption, and I'm no fan of his eff-you brand of slimy politics, but you have to admit that the Cabbage-Patch-Kid-faced Governor has outsmarted his political opponents by naming a guy who's scandal-free, probably didn't pay a cent for the job, and is African-American to boot, making the Senate look like a bunch of southern bigots by refusing to seat Burris. Brilliant! Blago has shown the federals who's still in charge of his state.
What I find so funny is that The U.S. Senate justifies it's refusal to seat Mr. Burris on the grounds that the Governor who appointed him is under suspicion and therefore, any power he exercises is illegitimate. But wait! This is a political body that happily voted authority to start a useless war to a President who, some would say, was 'elected' illegitimately, thanks to a questionable Supreme Court decision! Then, as it turns out, there was no legitimate reason to start the war in the first place! Practically every decision that George W. Bush made that needed to approved by congress during his first term could be considered illegitimate. What do you intend to do about that, Mr. Senate tough-guy? Does the nation's fortunes stand or fall on who becomes the junior senator from Illinois? What brave people! Finally taking a principled stand!
The Senate continues to try and extract laughs from us by refusing to seat the legally rightful appointee from Illinois, but nobody finds it very funny, when on practically the same day, they vote themselves a pay increase in the teeth of the worst economic climate since the Great Depression. And that's after last fall's farce of handing over the keys of the U.S. Treasury to a handful of rich-beyond-all-imagination Wall Street Banks. I've no problem with Minnesota sending a person who once made his living as a comedian to the Senate, but let's face it, we're already laughing so much, it hurts.
Well, at least the Senate has no jurisdiction on my kettle. So, while it comes to a boil, I'll wipe the tears of laughter from my eyes and check my world-timezone gadget to see where on the planet it's four o'clock, 'cause, by my watch, it's time for some tea.